Favorite book read? Harriet the Spy. It was actually an audio book. The kids and I started listening to books in the car, and it was life-changing. We would drive somewhere, and they would be quiet. Silent. And if someone would start to speak, he or she would receive a mighty shush.

I never read Harriet the Spy as a child. It was entertaining, funny, vivid, heartbreaking, and honest. Caleb liked it so much I bought him the sequel and companion book, and he’s currently halfway through the sequel.

Caleb is in the middle of at least four books: Harry Potter (the fourth one), Ender’s Game, The Long Secret (Harriet the Spy), and some baseball book. It drives me crazy. I just want him to finish a book, and then start the next. He’s doing it all wrong.

Least favorite? Breed by Chase Novak. It was recommended by Stephen King. I also read Under the Dome by Stephen King. Neither was any good. I am losing faith in Stephen King.

Oldest book read? The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton, 1937

Newest: I think The Goldfinch, October 2013

Longest book title? The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton; Beyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

Shortest title? Feed by M.T. Anderson

How many re-reads? Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Most books read by one author this year: Susan Beth Pfeffer. I binged and read all four books in her young adult series in three days.

Any in translation? I started The Infatuations by Javier Marias, but I got bored so I quit. Because you can do that.

And how many of this year’s books were from the library? 21. I think my overdue fees probably equal the amount of money I would have spent on books had I purchased instead of borrowing them.

Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t? The Infatuations by Javier Marias, The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud, Paris was the Place by Susan Conley

Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013? The Silent Land by Graham Joyce

Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013? Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Night Film by Marisha Pessl

Most humorous? May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes

Best series you discovered in 2013? I don’t generally read series, but I will (shamefully) admit to reading a young adult series by Susan Beth Pfeffer about what happens when an asteroid knocks the moon out of orbit. It was scientifically preposterous, but I think she laced the prose with crack because I had to see how the thing ended.